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The Danforth route for woodcock counting

The second night of counting woodcock was uneventful. Most of the stops came up empty. No matter how carefully I listened for the slightest hint of a peent, we counted birds at only three or four stops.

There’s one stop I’ll probably change by a tenth of a mile next year. If I stop one-tenth earlier than the usual four-tenths, I’ll count in a quieter open space. This particular stop has a lot of very noisy wood and tree frogs, and peepers. I heard the first bullfrog croak of the year here. As if the frogs aren’t already too loud, the stream was louder than I remember it ever running even though we hadn’t had much rain. Changing up one stop won’t make a difference in the remaining stops; they’ll start again at the “normal” place.

Near the end of this run there’s a small house with a large pasture. There are nice looking dairy cows here, and they’re usually near the fence by the road. We’ve seen a lot of turkeys in this pasture and always look for them when we’re there. Two years ago we stopped to count just in time to hear a turkey gobble. A coyote yipped and the turkey gobbled again. The coyote yipped, and again, a gobble. After the third gobble the coyote howled and the turkey…shut up. And people say turkeys are stupid.

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About Robin Follette

Maine Press Association award winner, 2013. Robin's Outdoors, Bangor Daily News, third place in Sports blogs.
I grew up with a fishing pole in my hand and have always loved the outdoors. From gardening to hunting and fishing, kayaking, camping, hiking and foraging, most of my time is spent outdoors. I teach outdoor skills as a volunteer instructor for Hooked On Fishing - Not On Drugs and Becoming an Outdoors-Woman. Pro-staff at The Limb Grip.
My personal blog is here. I'm currently working on my first book, a collection of short stories based on my outdoors experiences.
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Robin Follette

Maine Press Association award winner, 2013. Robin's Outdoors, Bangor Daily News, third place in Sports blogs.
I grew up with a fishing pole in my hand and have always loved the outdoors. From gardening to hunting and fishing, kayaking, camping, hiking and foraging, most of my time is spent outdoors. I teach outdoor skills as a volunteer instructor for Hooked On Fishing - Not On Drugs and Becoming an Outdoors-Woman. Pro-staff at The Limb Grip.
My personal blog is here. I'm currently working on my first book, a collection of short stories based on my outdoors experiences.